Cognitive function, depression, fatigue and quality of life among long-term survivors of head and neck cancer.

Background: Long-term cancer treatment complications become more prevalent as survival improves. Little is known about the psychological complications in long-term survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC). We investigated cognitive functioning and its relation with depression, fatigue, cognitive complaints, and brain lesions on MRI.

Methods: This study is part of a multicentre, prospective cohort study of 65 patients treated for HNC. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was combined with validated questionnaires on subjective memory complaints, depression, and fatigue after a median of 7 years follow-up. Results were compared with age- and education-adjusted normative data. Further, we evaluated cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH), brain volume, and infarctions on MRI.

Results: HNC patients had worse cognitive performance in two of the five assessed cognitive domains: episodic memory ( = -0.48, = .003) and speed of information processing ( = -0.47, < 0.001). Patients with fatigue performed worse than patients without fatigue on verbal fluency (mean difference in z-score 0.52, = .02) and speed of information processing (0.49, = .04). Patients with subjective memory complaints had a worse episodic memory performance (mean difference in z-score -0.96; = .02). Patients with cerebral infarction(s) on MRI performed worse on fluency (mean difference in z-score 0.74, = .005). A lower cognitive performance was not associated with depression, WMH or brain volume.

Conclusion: Long-term HNC survivors showed worse cognitive functioning 7 years after treatment. Cognitive function was associated with subjective complaints and fatigue, but not with depressive symptoms. Cerebral infarctions on MRI were correlated with cognitive function, whereas WMH, and brain volume were not.